Got Tagged Again!

Thanks Brit, they're fun to do! Here goes!

8 Favorite TV Shows-
1. The Office
2. Dog the Bounty Hunter
3. Little House on the Prairie
4. Oprah (occassionally)
5. Robot Chicken (yes, naughty, I know)
6. King of the Hill
7. a few shows on TLC
8. Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?

8 Favorite Restaurants-
1. Applebees
2. Braza Grill/Rodizio Grill
3. Olive Garden
4. Pie Pizza
5. Sweet Tomatos
6. Souper Salad
7. Los Hermanos
8. IHOP

8 Things I Did Yesterday-
1. Got Elise ready for school
2. Got Brady ready for pre-school and drove him/picked him up
3. Took Bohdee to the vet (clean bill of health--finally!)
4. Did the dishes
5. Organized the house a little
6. Picked up the girls from school
7. Mopped the floor
8. Went to Girls Night Out--Olive Garden, so much fun and yummy too!

8 Things On My Wish List-
1. Lose Weight
2. A Romantic Cruise
3. Trip to Europe
4. Unfinished projects completed
5. New Carpet or switch to hardwood floors
6. A house with a bigger yard & 3 car garage (for all the kids stuff)
7. A cure for Juvenile Diabetes
8. Complete our year-supply food storage

8 Things To Look Forward To-
1. Holidays coming up
2. Possibly another child (we'll see what's in store for us)
3. Opening our Wii and Wii Fit (have to wait till Christmas)
4. Disneyland
5. Seeing my family in WA
6. A cure for Juvenile Diabetes
7. Watching my kids grow
8. A long, happy life with Nate

8 People To Tag-
*Whoever wants to do this. It's always fun and I'm glad I don't have to take a bunch of pics this time! Cheers!

The Hunt Is Over!

Wednesday, October 15th--PHEWWEEEEEEE! We found a Wii! Thanks to the many of you that made suggestions. Congrats to Brittainey and Marissa for the Wii-obtaining tips! Brittainey got her cookies and now we need to get Marissa's hers. For any of you looking for your own, please let me know and I'll gladly share with you the site we found ours on. The only thing that sucks now is that we have to wait till Christmas! Ug! I'm trying to be optmistic that these next two months will go by fast but also, that we have time to cram everything in Nate and I are planning for the holidays and still enjoy it all.

Cheers!

On the Hunt for a Wii!

Sunday, October 12th--I have already explained my situation to some of my family but I'm making a plea to whoever else reads this...........I need a Wii!!!!!! Well, don't need one but REALLY would like one! My Aunt Maureen saw a Wii Fit for $90.00 at Target and called me up to see if I wanted it, I said, "Yes, of course!" And then I thought it would be so easy to get a Wii console. Not so much! So here's my plea: If any of you fine local readers of this blog happen to see a Wii for sale or know of a secret website that no one knows about and I can go to and buy one for no more than $250.00 (new), please let me know ASAP. I thought I was being good about trying to find one before the holidays really get going but I've had no such luck. The Wii is for Christmas. A batch of cookies to anyone who has better luck than me and finds the coveted Wii for the Armstrong family! Call me at home!

P.S. Yes Brittainey, I am KICKING myself for not buying yours! ha ha ; )

Our Little Smarty-Pants, Continued!

Friday, October 10th--I should have posted this on Wednesday but forgot so here goes. Elise had her first SEP conference for 1st grade. We sat down with Mrs. Mair to see how she's progressing so far, this year. Once again, I was amazed at Elise's abilities. Every night she is sent home with a book to read and pass off. Nate or I will listen to her read and help with any words then we ask her a series of questions to make sure she understood what she read. Mrs. Mair said she expects her students to be at a post-Kindergarten (level C, 3-4) level right now---Elise is at a 2nd grade level (level H, 13-14) and is being bumped up another level. She also gave Elise a list of 100 words and she was to see how many she recognized. Mrs. Mair expects her students to know about 40 of the words, Elise knew 89. Sweet! Her math skills are also above average. I know she gets that from her dad, imagine that! We're so proud of our little girl! Great job Elise!
And, just to make sure she's still a typical 6-year-old in some things, Mrs. Mair said we need to help her work on appropriate times to "chat". She's been caught a few times chatting with her friends instead of doing her work, in particular, that very day of the SEP! Silly Elise! Other than that she's a great helper and friend. Mrs. Mair switched the classroom around and told me she put a shy, quiet girl next to Elise because she knows Elise will be her friend and help her not be so shy. That felt good to hear. She also said Elise is very respectful to the other students and Mrs. Mair. While there are times we don't always see these amazing qualities in Elise, it's nice to know she's doing so in school. Again, great job Elise! We love you!
**Above is her 1st grade picture. I love that she's missing teeth, too cute!

Brady the Goofball!

Friday, October 10th--There may be many a blog entries with this title. He's just my little goofball, so much that I even made up a song about it and we sing it together. (Sorry, peeps, it's a private little tune as are the many I make up for my kids.) Today he gets "goofball recognition" because of a little outing we had. After running a few errands, just him and me, we ended up at Burger King for lunch. I promised Brady if he ate all of his lunch (mac & cheese, fries and apple fries) he could go in the play room. He quickly ate and then we went in. There were only a few kids but he made friends with all of them fast. One in particular was a girl probably 7 or 8 years old. He followed her everywhere and laughed and asked her to watch him climb the towers. Perhaps he prefers older women? It was cute to watch him interact with her. At one point, the two of them had sat down on one of the steps and were chatting. She asked his name, he said, "Bwady" (yes, that's how he pronounces it). She told him her name (I didn't hear that part) and then she pointed to her mom down below. She then asked him who his mom was and he pointed down to me. Then my little goofball matter-of-factly said (and think about Brady saying this with all of his confidence), "MY moms name is..........mommy." All of the parents heard him and we all had a good laugh. (he does know my given name) A few minutes later it was time for us to go. The little girl he was hangin' out with had to go as well. They traded Burger King toys, his was light purple, hers was red so they swapped. Then Brady and I went into the bathroom to scrub off all the nasty germs that cover those playroom towers. We got out and the little girl was gone. Brady was so sad! We went to get in the car and he was looking all over the parking lot. Then he said, "Oh, no fair! I wanted her to come to our house and pway with me!" I said, "Brady, I don't know her mom and we didn't exchange phone numbers." He said, "But MOM, she's my new fwend and I like her aLOT!" I said, "I'm sorry. I don't know what to do, she's gone." He folded his arms in a huff and grunted.

I felt bad driving away knowing he seemed to have the "hots" for the cute little, older-than-him, blonde but I guess if their paths are meant to cross again, they will. The bigger thought is: Is my 3-year-old son already girl crazy? Please no!

A Day At the Dentist

Tuesday, October 7th--Right after Elise got home from school, the kids got their teeth scrubbed and then off we went to Greenwood Dental. This was Brady's first official cleaning so we had Elise go first to see how the "pros" get it done. She did beautifully, no complaining, no whining. The only thing she hated was the flouride at the end (When I was a kid, I always hated that stuff at the end too!). The x-rays showed no cavities! WOOHOO! That means she got to be a part of the "Tuffy Tooth Club" again. It sounds like a big deal but really, she just got to pick either a t-shirt or toothbrush with motor. She chose the t-shirt, in pink. Dr. Greenwood said she needs to see an orthodontist, the teeth coming in don't have enough space and are coming in crooked.
Brady, on the other hand, holy moly, what a nightmare! You'd think watching his sister and all go smoothly, he'd be willing to sit down and get his own teeth checked. Nope, not even close! He screamed from the very beginning. The dental tech gave up and asked Dr. Greenwood to come in and take care of business. He opened Brady's mouth and had things done faster than I've ever seen! They wanted to do more but it was just impossible. He also does not have cavities. Phew! He chose the Transformers motorized toothbrush. Dr. Greenwood told Brady if he calmed down and promised to be good at his next visit then he could pick a prize today. Brady, as he whimpered, said, "No!" So, no prize and of course, that didn't go over well! We left the dentist with a very happy little girl and a very disgruntled little boy. Can't please 'em all! I'm just glad neither of them have cavities!

Can't Help It, I Have to "Plug" This Book!

Thursday, October 2nd--I've been wanting to get my hands on this book for a few months now! I saw Elissa Wall on "Oprah" a while back. She talked about the book and her horrific experiences being forced to be married at 14 years-old while growing up in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS). I've always been curious about this religion. It is a break-off of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons). This book explains a lot about the religion and the pros and cons of the religion. Much of the current downside of the religion has to do with leaders (Warren Jeffs) making strict rules and strict punishments that very few can live up to so people are being "kicked out" of the religion and their established FLDS towns.
This book is AMAZING! I've had it on hold, at the library, for 2 months and it finally became available. It took me less than a week to finish it, much of the chunk being finished in the last few days. I recommend it to anyone. The one thing I came away with, after reading this book, is how grateful I am for my freedoms. I'm grateful for religious beliefs that allow me to date, fall in love with, and choose my spouse. I'm grateful that things like "reassignment" don't exist in the LDS church (you'll have to read about it!). I'm grateful for being a parent that will teach my children my beliefs and testimony but also that they have the right to choose what "works" for them. I truly hope my kids will continue to learn, grow and develop testimonies of the LDS church, just like I have, but if they decide otherwise they will know I still love them and won't judge them for that, let alone cast them away and never make contact with them again.
Read this book, if you haven't already. It's excellent! It won't disappoint.........at least it didn't for me! If you read it or have already done so, please let me know what you thought about it.

Behold, the Monstrous Watermelon Is Done!

Friday, September 26th--Yes! We gave the melon a knock to check for that "hollow" sound and sure enough, it "hollowed" at us. Nate gave Elise the knife to ceremoniously cut her melon from it's nurturing vine. We're not sure why she felt the need to put on her dirty red socks to use as gloves but it didin't matter. And, of course, because she wanted to control the entire situation we made her carry it inside too! ha HA! Nate said, "Lets put it in the fridge to chill for a while and then slice it later." I said, "Are you nuts?! Cut that bulging piece of fruit open NOW!" The rind was rather tough but he got it open. The aroma of fresh watermelon filled the air. Ooooohhh Aaaahhhhh! We let Elise take the first bite since she's the reason it even exists. She took a big 'ol bite and went, "MMMmmmmmm!" So I assumed it was a deliciously, sweet watermelon, not so! I cut a chunk next and took a bite--it tasted like the watermelon right up next to the rine, kind of sour. It seems as though it needed a little more time. It was a false "hollow"! Our original plan was to share Elise's harvest with her neighbor friends but we decided probably not. Then again, kids are crazy over sour stuff. Maybe we still will! Really, the most important thing to this whole adventure is the thrilled and excited look on Elise's face as she enjoyed the product of her efforts and love. She even planted more seeds......in a designated spot!

My Willow Tree Nativity Set

Friday, September 26th--As I mentioned before, I've been wanting to complete my Willow Tree Nativity set for 2 years. My dear friend, LaDonna, started it for me after I expressed a sincere desire to own it. I never expected her to do so, it was so very generous, but she gave me the main set for my birthday, in 2006, and I am still so touched by her sweet gesture. Since then, I've wondered if I should start buying the other coordinating sets or just ask for them for Christmas or birthday. The sets are kind of pricey so I didn't really want to buy them myself. This year, for my birthday, was the first year I couldn't think of a single thing I wanted other than completing my set so I combined all my birthday money and gift cards and went to Hallmark. I was able to buy everything but the "creche" (stable) and two of the farm animals. The original set came with Joseph, Mary/Jesus, shepherd, 2 white sheep, 1 set of stars, and the donkey. So you can see there's much to this set. I love it SO MUCH I can't bear to pack it up and only display it for Christmas so it will stay in my living room year 'round. Maybe for Christmas I will complete it once and for all. Once again, I can't think of much I would like for Christmas other than a Wii and Wii Fit. Nate's not too keen on that idea. Aw, shucks!
Thanks again, to my family, for contributing to such a wonderful birthday gift. And thanks, LaDonna, for being such a special, dear friend!

I've Been Tagged So Here Ya Go!

Friday, September 26th

Here are the rules:

NO CLEANING

NO STRAIGHTENING

NO WIPING KIDS NOSES

Take these pictures right now

Kitchen Sink

(Well, I just couldn't take the picture without a clean sink so I broke the rules. Sue me! ha ha ha)

My Fridge (Got the Halloween stuff up! Fun!)
My Bathroom (Yes, I cheated again! Had to straighten up!)

My Closet (No, I didn't cheat on this one. Maybe I should have! Anyone want to install a closet organizer for me, for cheap?)

My Favorite Room (Family Room--with folded laundry!)

My Laundry Room (How much can you CRAM into your laundry room?)

My Favorite Pretty Shoes and Favorite All-the-Time Shoes (yes, you'll usually see me in the fake Crocs--they're ugly but so dang comfy!)

Self-Pic (uh, yeah....)

Dream Vacation: The two "E's"--England and Egypt, always been my dream trips. And my desire to go to both is equal. The pic on the left is Westminster Abbey, in London. And the pic on the right should be obvious. I wanna go NOW! : (

Okay, so I tag whoever wants to do this. It was fun!